Penn State vs. Rutgers: How will the offense change without Mike Yurcich in charge?
Penn State will play its first game this season without Mike Yurcich at offensive coordinator Saturday against Rutgers. The Nittany Lions will take on the Scarlet Knights in Beaver Stadium with their New Year’s Six bowl hopes on the line. Here are some final thoughts and predictions ahead of the Nittany Lions’ matchup with Rutgers.
How impactful was Yurcich?
We’re going to learn pretty quickly how much of the issue was Mike Yurcich as an offensive play caller and how much was Mike Yurcich’s offensive scheme. Some combination of running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and tight ends coach Ty Howle will be calling the offense in this one and it will have to be the same scheme given the quick turnaround. That should at least allow for familiarity with the Nittany Lion offense and give the team some level of continuity that the group will need. Now, the amount of continuity needed is up for debate. It’s not like this offense has been firing on all cylinders this season.
But still, the Seider-Howle combination will be what’s different this weekend. Those two don’t necessarily have to be late 2016 Joe Moorhead as play callers, but there is an aspect they can clearly improve with this group. Penn State head coach James Franklin said Wednesday that the game planning process has been more collaborative this week and that bodes well for the results the unit can expect on Saturday.
Theoretically, if this is the best the offense plays all year, then that points to Yurcich being a major part of the problem. But if it doesn’t then it’s clear the issues are much deeper than that and questions start to arise about what comes next.
Allar’s comfort level
Penn State’s top priority with the next iteration of its offense, no matter who is coaching it, has to be Drew Allar’s comfort level and confidence. Getting him right and allowing him to produce at a high level will dictate what next year’s team can be, and this is a good opportunity to get him going. Franklin said he asked for more easy throws to get Allar into a rhythm against Michigan, and that just didn’t happen. I would expect, given the need for confidence right now, that he gets some high percentage throws early to put himself in position to succeed for all 60 minutes against Rutgers.
Because this is going to be a chance to learn a little bit more about Allar too. The sophomore quarterback was offered by Yurcich and came to Penn State in large part because of his relationship with him — so playing his first game without him at the helm will likely be an adjustment. If he can go out and string those first few throws together, then turn it into something bigger, it will go a long way in his development as he gets ready for his second year as a starter — and gets ready to play in a different offense next season.
Wide receiver improvement
Penn State’s receivers have been unable to get open for the majority of the season, but there’s a chance getting a new play-caller (or two) could be the help they need the rest of the way. It remains to be seen how difficult the play-calling made things for the receivers and if they were asked to do too much too often. This is clearly not a group that is going to go down as one of the best in program history, but the fact remains that these players are too talented to be underperforming at the level they have so far this season.
That’s not to say that suddenly the group will look like the ones that featured players like Jahan Dotson and Chris Godwin in the past, but it still could take a step forward. KeAndre Lambert-Smith has been at the top of the depth chart all season, but he could get some added help down the homestretch from players like Dante Cephas and Kaden Saunders. Both have seen their roles increase since Harrison Wallace III went down with an injury — one Franklin said will leave him out for at least this weekend — and now have a chance to prove their talent with new decision makers on offense. It doesn’t necessarily have to be one of those two, but the wide receivers have struggled and whoever impresses most in the last two regular season games and bowl game could see a bigger role next season.
Final predictions
Penn State 28, Rutgers 3: I know there’s a chance Penn State could check out mentally now that the College Football Playoff is no longer an option, but I still think this team takes care of business against a team it’s clearly better than. The Nittany Lions will still probably struggle offensively, but the defense is too good to allow this Rutgers offense to get much of anything going in this matchup.
MVP: Dani Dennis-Sutton. Dennis-Sutton has been overshadowed by Adisa Isaac and Chop Robinson at defensive end, given that both could go in the top 50 of the 2024 NFL Draft. But when it’s all said and done, the sophomore might end up being the best of the bunch. I’ll say he gets two sacks, including one where he forces and recovers a fumble.
The last word
Penn State head coach James Franklin on firing offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich:
“Yeah, very difficult. Very difficult from a personal perspective. Very difficult from a professional perspective. And then in terms of the timing, I just think for most people and most situations, if you’ve gotten to the point where you feel like that’s what you’re going to do, I’m not great at like faking it, you know. I want to be as transparent and up front as I possibly can be. So when you get to the point you feel like that’s the right decision, then I think you make it. Part of this also is the belief of the rest of the staff and the guys in the Lasch Building and the locker room. But to me, when you feel like that’s the decision, in my opinion you don’t delay that decision as long as you feel like you have some internal options that can do it.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2023 at 10:20 AM.
